benedict



(No Model.)

DIGT.

ed Aug. 23, 1887.

F. D. FRY & H. W.

, LAST FOR OVE No. 368,664.

UNITED STATES PATENT OrricE.

FREDERICK D. FRY AND HENRY W. BENEDICT, OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO THEODORE H. BENEDICT, OF SAME PLACE.

LAST FOR OVERSHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No'. 368,664, dated August 23, 1887.

Application filed June 17, 1887.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, FREDERICK D. FRY and HENRY W. BENEDICT, citizens of the United States, residing at Danbury, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Lasts for Overshoes; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to the manufacture of overshoes, and has for its object to provide means whereby overshoes having inwardlycurved counters may be molded without increasing the cost of production. It has heretofore been a serious objection to all classes of overshoes, particularly to ladies overshoes, that it was impossible to keep them from slipping at the heel without some kind of supplemental securing devices. This objection we avoid by causing the counters of overshoes to curve inward from the heel, so that the convex inner side of the curve will rest against the heel of the ordinary shoe, bearing thereon with a firm but yielding pressure, so that the overshoe is held securely in place and is in no danger of becoming removed or of slipping in ordinary use. Overshoes embodying our improvement cannot, however, be molded in the ordinary manner, as it would beirnpossible to remove them from the last. In order to overcome this objection, we have devised the simple and novel construction of last which we will now describe, referring by numbers to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of the last complete, an overshoe being shown in section thereon; Fig. 2, an inverted plan view of the last, show ing the folding plate in position thereon; Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section through the heel portion of the last and folding plate; Fig. 4, a perspective of the heel portion of an overshoe, the side being broken away, showing the folding plate in the shoe after the latter has been removed from the last; Fig. 5, a

perspective of a plate which is attached to the body of the last at the center of the heel; Fig. 6, a perspective of the folding plate detached, and Fig. 7, an elevation of the folding plate,

Serial No. 241,590. (No model.)

showing the manner in which the sides close inward toward each other, so that it may be withdrawn from the shoe after the latter has been removed from the last.

l'denotes the last proper, which is of the ordinary construction. The gist of our invention lies in making the lower portion of the heel of the last removable and collapsible.

In carrying out our invention we make the lower portion of the last proper slightly lower than in ordinary lasts, and secure a plate, 2, at the center thereof. The shape or size of this plate is not of the essence of our invention, nor is the manner of its attachment to the last. The remainder of the heel portion of the last consists of the removable plate, which we have designated as a whole by 3. This plate consists of two parts or wings, 4, which are hinged together at the back. At

.the front of the plate the two wings are caused to overlap each other, one being beveled on the under side and the other on the upper side, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. 5 denotes a flange around the edge of both wings of the folding plate, which engages the outer side of the heel portion of the last proper, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

It will of course be apparent that the special degree of curvature of the counter of the overshoe is not of the essence of our invention,

that being determined by the shape of thclast and the folding plate. It will be seen in Fig. 1 that the outline of the last proper gives the desired curvature to the upper portion of the counter, and that the outline of the folding plate gives the desired curvature to the lower portion of the counter, the deepest part of the curved portion-that is the part that bears against the heel of the ordinary shoe-being at the point of intersection of the downward curve of the last proper and the upward curve of the outer edge of the folding plate, as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. lln use the folding plate is placed in position, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the inner sides of wings 4. resting against plate 2, and the inner edge of flange 5'resting against the heel portion of the last proper. The molding and curing of the shoe from this point onward is performed in the usual or any preferred manner, which it is not necessary to describe, as it forms no part of our present invention. After themolding, curing,-and finishing of the shoe has been performed the last is removed in the usual manner, plate 2, which is secured to the last, slipping out from between the wings of the folding plate and leaving the latter in the heel of the shoe, as shown in Fig. 4. The folding plate may now be readily removed by closing the sides together, as shown in Fig. 7.

Having thus described our invention, we claim- 1. As a new manufacture, the herein-described last for overshoes, the heel portion of which consists of a detachable and collapsible folding plate.

2. The combination, with a last, of a folding plate consisting of wings hinged together, and provided with a flange adapted to engage the heel portion of the last, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a last, and a plate, 2, attached at the center of the heel, of a folding plate consisting of wings hinged together, and having a flange around the outer edge, the inner sides of said wings being adapted to engage plate 2 and the flange to engage the heel portion of the last.

4:. The combination, with a last having a plate, 2, attached at the center of the heel, of a folding plate consisting of wings hinged together at the back, and having a flange at the outer edge, the inner sides of said wings being adapted to engage plate 2 and the flange to engage the heel portion of the last, one of said wings being beveled on the upper side at the front and the other on the under side to permit them to fold readily.

5. The herein-described last for molding overshoes with inwardly-curved counters, the heel portion of which is detachable from the body thereof, and is made of parts hinged together so that it may be readily removed from an overshoe.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK D. FRY.

HENRY W. BEN EDIGT.

'Witnesses:

N ORMAN HODGE, L. L. HOPKINS. 

